Asked to precept a Liberty nursing student? What Liberty asks of you
Liberty University's online nursing students do their practicums with local clinicians, and Liberty approves every preceptor and site. What Liberty asks of you depends on the student's track: an NP student needs a clinician in the specialty, an MSN student a nurse leader, educator or informatics clinician.
Open to precepting a Liberty student?
Tell us your specialty, practice setting and state. A placement advisor replies with what Liberty asks of preceptors on the tracks you could take.
Which students you might be asked to take
Liberty's nurse practitioner programs are doctorates, so an NP student asking you to precept is in the DNP or the PMHNP certificate. The 2026-27 catalog gives these courses and hours.
| Student's track | Practicum courses | Hours (2026-27 catalog) | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNP – Family Nurse Practitioner | NURS 771, NURS 772, NURS 838 | 750 NP hours across the three | Primary care across the lifespan: wellness, acute, chronic and complex conditions |
| DNP – Psychiatric Mental Health NP | NURS 768, NURS 769, NURS 770 | 750 NP hours across the three | Psychiatric care across the lifespan: interviewing, screening, diagnostics, episodic and chronic care |
| PMHNP certificate | NURS 754, NURS 755 | 224, then 280 | Adult and geriatric clients, then pediatrics and families |
| MSN tracks | Three courses per track | 300 across the three | Education, administration, community health, health policy or informatics |
| Post-master's DNP | NURS 840 to NURS 843 | At least 560 | Systems leadership, from the micro to the macro level |
Liberty is a Christian university, and its FNP practicum course descriptions include "physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care", so the student's course materials reflect that framing.
Who Liberty accepts as a preceptor, by track
- FNP: Liberty has not published a credentials list. Some states set one: Liberty's Missouri page requires an APRN with prescribing authority or an MD/DO with unrestricted prescriptive authority, and its Oregon page calls for direct supervision by an appropriately licensed Oregon preceptor.
- PMHNP: an older Liberty FAQ says "The approved preceptors are PMHNPs and Psychiatrists", and that half of each practicum's hours must be with a prescriber.
- MSN Nurse Educator, Nursing Administration and Health Policy: an approved MSN- or doctorally prepared preceptor. The older handbook adds that Administration preceptors should hold a nursing administration or leadership role.
- MSN Informatics: an "experienced informatics clinician".
- Every MSN track, per the 2022-23 handbook: an RN license in good standing and an MSN or School of Nursing approval, with a doctorate, certification and two years' experience preferred.
Some of this comes from older Liberty documents, so the practicum team has the current word. Our preceptor requirements page lists the source behind each point.
Paperwork Liberty asks for
Expect the student to ask you for a few documents, and your facility to be asked for an agreement. The current catalog says MSN students must "obtain a preceptor site contract" and secure an educational site affiliation agreement before the first practicum course. The older MSN handbook describes the pieces:
- Your curriculum vitae, with license numbers, education and employment history
- Preceptor verification and agreement forms showing your work email and phone
- The Liberty University Clinical Program Affiliation Agreement, signed by the facility, or an "Attestation of Agreement" letter if the facility requires no agreement
A facility may propose its own contract instead, but the handbook warns this "may delay the approval process" and that Liberty is under no obligation to accept it. For NP students the paperwork runs through Liberty's zero-credit Gate courses, and the exact list sits inside the student's course rather than on a public page. More on the site contract page.
What the role involves week to week
Liberty's older MSN handbook sets out the preceptor's part plainly. The student has one approved preceptor per course and spends 80% of practicum time with that person. You and the student meet before any hours are logged, hours count only within the course term dates, and you keep in touch at least weekly.
You validate the student's hours and complete an evaluation at the end of the course. Liberty's 2023 orientation page for DNP and APRN preceptors adds that preceptors communicate student progress to the practicum faculty and complete evaluations through InPlace, Liberty's placement system. We found no Liberty description of faculty site visits.
Liberty's PMHNP FAQ notes that specific days of the week cannot always be secured, so tell the student early which days you can offer.
Insurance, compliance and fees
The 2022-23 MSN handbook says Liberty provides professional malpractice coverage for BSN, MSN and DNP students in required practicums, for Liberty-scheduled practicum only. Liberty's Risk Management office can issue certificates of insurance for student off-campus placements, with requests due three business days ahead, so if your site needs proof, ask the student to request it early.
Students arrive having met Liberty's own requirements: AHA BLS, a background check and drug screen, immunizations and a physical, plus OSHA and HIPAA training. Your site can add its own onboarding; Liberty says it cannot control extra requirements or fees a facility sets.
On fees, Liberty says any fee a facility or preceptor charges is the student's responsibility and should be negotiated directly between the student and the site. Liberty's public pages list no CE credit, title or honorarium for preceptors. A 2023 Liberty orientation page linked a document on stipend information for FNP and PMHNP preceptors that we could not open, so ask the practicum team whether anything applies today.
State steps that can affect the start date
In a few states, Liberty or the student must tell the board of nursing before clinicals begin. Liberty's pages say the School of Nursing notifies Alabama's board at least 15 days before APRN clinicals, once the student's paperwork is approved. In New Jersey, Liberty submits program, preceptor and site information before the start date; in Louisiana, the board must approve each clinical facility first; in Alaska, the student files an APRN Preceptorship Registration Form.
If you practice in one of those states, expect your details to reach the board and the start date to depend on it. The state board notices page has the list.
Who we are and why we asked
Liberty Preceptor is the placement desk for Liberty nursing students who need preceptors and sites. If a placement advisor contacted you, we are asking whether you would consider precepting, and we will set out the track, course, term and Liberty's requirements so you can decide on the facts. The student submits your details to Liberty, and Liberty decides.
If you would consider precepting, choose "I'm a preceptor (not a student)" in the form on this page or on the contact page.
Questions Liberty students ask
Can a physician precept a Liberty NP student?
For PMHNP students, an older Liberty FAQ names psychiatrists and PMHNPs as approved preceptors. For FNP students Liberty has published no list, though its Missouri page, reflecting state rules, accepts an MD or DO with unrestricted prescriptive authority. For one older MSN Nurse Educator course, the handbook barred physicians and PAs. Ask the practicum team for the current rule.
How many hours a week will a Liberty student need?
Liberty does not publish a weekly figure. The catalog gives totals: 750 NP hours across three FNP or PMHNP practicums, and 300 across three MSN courses. The PMHNP certificate lists 224 and 280 hours in courses that, per an older FAQ, run 16 weeks in fall and spring. Agree a schedule with the student that suits your clinic.
Will I have to use Liberty's software?
Probably for evaluations. Liberty's 2023 DNP/APRN preceptor page says preceptors complete student evaluations through InPlace, which replaced Typhon from 2022. The older MSN handbook also allowed an emailed evaluation from a work address. The student or the practicum faculty will tell you what the current course uses.
Does Liberty's malpractice coverage extend to me?
Liberty's 2022-23 MSN handbook describes the coverage as protection for its students in required practicums, for Liberty-scheduled practicum and clinicals only. It says nothing about covering preceptors, so check your own policy or your employer's. If your site wants proof of the student's coverage, Liberty's Risk Management office can issue a certificate of insurance on request.
Can I precept a student who works at my facility?
For MSN students, Liberty's older handbook allowed practicum at the student's own workplace if the hours are unpaid, a Clinical Program Affiliation Agreement is in place and the student works in a different unit or department. We found no current Liberty rule for NP students, so ask the practicum team. More on using a workplace site.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
More leads, sooner, for your practicum.
Tell us your Liberty program, your county and when your practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit Liberty's rules for your track, and help you get the Gate-course paperwork right.
- Matched to your track: FNP, PMHNP, DNP or MSN
- Paperwork ready for the Gate course and the site contract
- In person near you, or telehealth where your track allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.